World Catholic population: rising in Africa, falling in Europe
October 17, 2024
» Continue to this story on Fides
CWN Editor's Note: The world’s Catholic population grew slightly faster than the overall population in 2022 (the last year for which full statistics are available), according to an annual account provided by the Fides news service.
Fides reports a worldwide Catholic population of slightly under 1.4 billion at the close of 2022: up just a fraction under 1% from the previous year. Africa and the Americas (which are treated as one continent in the Fides report) account for the bulk of the increase. Asia and Oceania show only small increases. In Europe the Catholic population dropped by 474,000 in the year.
Statistics for the number of priests, seminarians, and religious show similar trends, with large increases in Africa and sharp declines in Europe.
The above note supplements, highlights, or corrects details in the original source (link above). About CWN news coverage.
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